Burning From Fusebox

1) First thing to do

If you smell burning and you suspect it may be coming from your fuse-box (fuse-board / consumer unit / electric box / trip switch box) then turn off all the switches including the double red one. This will disconnect all the power to your house. This is the quickest way of doing as much as you can as quickly as possible.

2) Second thing to do

Assuming that there is no fire or lots of smoke then you should immediately call an electrician for assistance. There are a few emergency electricians in each are of the country and we can certainly attend 24/7 if you have a major emergency in any L or WA postcodes. An emergency electrician will be able to diagnose the cause of the burning smell and inspect the consumer unit for the source of the problem.

3) Burning from fuse-box

If there is still burning from the fuse-box, lots of smoke or you can see flames then you should consider calling the fire brigade on the emergency number that is currently in use. It is a serious matter if you can smell or see burning in your fuse-box and should be treated as an emergency.

4) What can an electrician do to help?

As emergency electricians we can help in a variety of ways. If components are damaged then we may be able to replace them, if the burning is too extensive then we can replace the consumer unit and in certain extreme cases it may be necessary to extend wiring if cables are burnt. Whatever the issue, rest assured that we can help you with the problem. We are specialists in emergency electrical situations and carry a range of spare parts for all makes of consumer units on the vehicle. We diagnose the cause of the burning and carry out inspection and testing to check the safety of the circuit and the consumer unit.

5) Its late at night will you still come out?

It doesn’t matter how late it is to us, we are an emergency service and will help restore power, repair electrical wiring and make safe at any time of day or night. On rare occasions we take a break but we will nearly always answer the phone and attend your home in an emergency. Just make sure that you and your home are safe from fire in the first instance and if you are at all worried that there is a high risk of fire or if there is currently a fire happening then call the appropriate number for the emergency services at the time.

6) What are your charges for coming out?

Our charges can be found on our website “how much is it?”, we pride ourselves on clear and concise pricing to help you understand the costs involved. Any work arising outside of the initial emergency call out will be discussed with you and a written quote provided to you for this.

7) Can a burnt fuse-box be repaired?

There are occasions when a fuse-box / consumer unit can be repaired however this vastly depends on the damage caused, the extent of the damage and the engineering judgement of the electrical inspector carrying out the investigation and work. There are situations where it is not worth the risk to replace a few components and a complete consumer unit swap should be considered.

8) Can you get my power back on?

We may be able to install a temporary consumer unit if your consumer unit is too badly damaged to repair however this will involve a basic light installed near the consumer unit and a couple of sockets again near to the consumer unit.  The idea being that fridges and freezers can be powered back up temporarily using extension leads.

9) What happens after the emergency is over?

After the initial emergency is sorted out we will normally recommend that your homes electrical system is inspected and tested by ourselves to ascertain its condition and suitability for continued use. The inspection will result in a 5-7 page report produced and observations of electrical safety and any recommendations for improvement. This is an inspection recommended to be carried out every 10 years but seldom happens. We STRONGLY recommend that one is carried out after such an incident.

10) What is the report called?

The report is called an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). It is a document produced during and following a Periodic Inspection.

This document is also known as Electrical Safety Certificate, Landlord Certificate, Electrical Report and many other names but the correct one is EICR.

The process is also known as an Electrical Test, A Safety Check, Electrical Inspection, and so on but the correct name is Periodic Inspection.

There is a lot of confusion regarding electrical inspections and testing and we aim to clear it up with our blogs on this site.

If you require any further information after reading this then please feel free to contact us using the contact form on our website. We are happy to help.